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Kasare, Solicitor

Category: Law

Satisfied Customers: 1301

Experience: Solicitor, 10 yrs plus experience in civil litigation, employment and family law

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My daughter was involved in a car accident which she was liable

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My daughter was involved in a car accident which she was liable for. The other driver was not making a claim for injury, until a 3rd party became involved. My daughters insurance company disputed the injury claim, no further contact was made with my daughter reference the claim.

She offered to pay for the damages to the vehicle, which the other party accepted. Once the 3rd party injury company became involved, the other parties insurance company claimed that the insurance claim could not be stopped, even though the other person involved did not want to make the claim. No further correspondences where made between the other party, my daughter or the insurance companies.

Today she received an email stating that she needs to pay the excess on her insurance for the claim that had been processed. The claim was just for damage to the vehicle and not for injuries.

My question is, did the other insurance company have the legal right to pursue a claim for damages to the car that my daughter had offered to settle in cash?

The vehicle was a company van, the owner of the company was happy to accept a financial settlement for the damage to his van to cover the cost of repairs.

I believe the amount was £900, of which her excess is £650.

I am unsure who the third party insurance company was, we were informed by my daughters insurance company that a claim for injuries was being made, by another insurance firm. My daughters insurance company was disputing the injury claim and informed us to "do nothing as the claim was being investigated". We were also informed that the claim could not be stopped by either us or the van owner due to the injury claim that was put in on their behalf.

Hi John, thanks for getting back to me with the additional information.

I am afraid if the insurer of the other vehicle becomes involved, which will usually happen if someone in the vehicle is claiming a personal injury, then the matter becomes a matter between the insurance companies to resolve - both liability and the repairs.

However, by paying for the damage, which you say your daughter admits was her fault, and seeking the excess only from her, your daughter has saved £250.

Unfortunately, without details of who presented the personal injury claim - it would either be the driver of the third party vehicle, a passenger in that vehicle or a passenger in your daughters vehicle - I cannot advise specifically. It may be that a claim was initially presented to the third party insurer and that has alerted them to an accident. If that is the case, they will commence the process of dealing with repairs, regardless of your daughters wishes. At that stage, it is out of your daughters hands and in the hand of both their and her insurance company.

But if there is an acceptance of fault by your daughter and the third party driver/passenger or other presents a claim for injuries - even if they advised at the scene they were ok - as long as they have a basic medical report they will win damages for personal injury.

The only advice I can give is that your daughter can complain for not being kept up to date regarding the matter from her insurers.

But ultimately, in answer to your question, yes the third party insurer had a right to go through her insurer not her (no legal action would have been necessary in light of her admission).

I hope this assists and is clear. If you require any further information please ask.

Many thanks, XXXXX XXXXX sure this was the case, however, wanted to be sure. I do know that the other driver was approached by a personal injury firm to make a claim. He, however, had not sought medical attention after the incident.

The problem is nowadays you don't actually need to have gone to your doctor after a minor accident - as long as you obtain a medico-legal report and this is done without consulting the records in any event on the basis of what someone tells the "expert".

Next time, advise your daughter to be careful, not admit anything at the scene and watch out. There are a lot of "cash for crash" scams ongoing at the moment.

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